What's Wrong
With

Mariah's
Angry
Letter

This
Picture?

As you read the following scene, try to guess:
What's wrong with this picture?

   MARIAH KEPT DIGGING through her purse unable to find the card.   "I
           thought that I had it with me," she said, looking up at Holly.
   Holly shook her head.   "Oh, I believe you.   I've gotten one or two myself.   They
can be so upsetting."
   "No doubt," Mariah said, laying the purse at the foot of her chair.   "You
should've read this thing; it used the word Hell several times."
   "Some people are so uncouth," Holly added.
   "What's worse, she does it every Christmas and Easter," Mariah continued.
   "Tell her to stop sending them."
   "I have!   She insists that she's only trying to warn me."
   "How about the police?"
   "What can they do?"
   The two women paused, each taking a bite of their food.
   "I KNOW!" Holly began.   "Make her feel like a hypocrite!   Tell her that real
Christians don't go around doing things like that."
   Mariah raised her eyebrows.   "That's a great idea!   I'll tell her that all this talk about
my soul's destination is out of line; she's being a busybody!"
   Holly nodded.   "Tell her that her actions are tasteless."
   "Right!" Mariah said.   "Besides, why should she care if I go to Hell; what's in it
for her?"
   "Tell her to worry about her own soul.   After all, you're not going around
trying to keep her out of Hell."
   Mariah reached for her purse.   "I better write this stuff down."
   "I know exactly what you should say," Holly said.
   Mariah found paper and pen.   "Shoot."
   "Tell her this: 'Gwen, your preoccupation with my soul's destination
demonstrates a lack of thoughtfulness; you obviously don't care about my
feelings--'"
   "Feelings?   Maybe there's a better word."
   "Think of one later.   Just keep writing '--I don't see why whether or not I end
up in Hell is any of your business.   If you were really as compassionate as you,
as a Christian, claim to be, you would keep your so-called warning to yourself
and stop offending me!'"
   Marian finished writing.
   "You don't have to use the same words, but you get the idea," Holly said,
patting herself with a smile.
   "Great!" Mariah said, gazing over the letter before it went into her purse.
"Thanks, Holly . . . You've opened my eyes; now I know what to do . . ."

The problem with that picture is
Mariah's reaction . . .

Mariah's reaction to her friend giving her a tract is as befitting as the person who
        becomes offended when his next-door neighbor wakes him up in the middle of
        the night--to tell him his house is on fire!   Mariah's friend, Gwen, was only trying
to help.   More specifically, her friend's primary concern was the fate of Mariah's soul.

The Bible teaches that
every one of us has a soul.
The Bible says that when
God created us, He,
"formed man of the
dust of the ground, and
breathed into his
nostrils the breath of
life; and man
became a living
soul."   Gen. 2:7

The soul is YOU.   It is that
part of your being that
provides self-awareness.
The sense of
consciousness you and I
possess is not the
combined sum of a trillion
"mindless" neurons in the
brain firing off.   Your

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM says the two subjects
one should never discuss are religion and politics.
And often the one considered the worse, by far, is
religion.   Perhaps this is because religion is viewed as
highly subjective; too many beliefs in the world, each
considered unverifiable; since "no one can prove
whose right," it makes no sense to argue over their
relative merits.
   However, if a religious belief is to be truly useful to
anyone, it must first be viewed as an absolute truth to
the person practicing it.   (If a person views their belief
as equally valid to all others, then that person is not
possessing the truth themselves.   There can only be
one truth, remember?).
   Perhaps the real reason few want to discuss religion
is because they can't substantiate what they believe.
Or worse yet, they don't really know what they believe
in, in the first place.

consciousness comes from your soul, the seat of your emotions--that part of you that
simply can't imagine nonexistence.   The self-awareness generated by your soul compels
you toward believing in an afterlife.   The soul reaches out for something beyond itself,
which is why man is incurably religious.

And yet, as important as the soul is, most people spend little time pondering over its fate.
When was the last time you seriously thought about your soul's final destination?
Tragically, most people travel this short distance called life, planning everything else
except where they're going when they die.   Jesus said it best, when He asked:

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul?   Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36-37

Friend, do you realize that when it's all said and done, you're going to be dead for a
much longer amount of time than you were alive?   Think back to all the famous people
who lived centuries ago.   Consider how long they lived, then compare their meager
existence to how long they've been dead.   Take it a step further.   Project forward a
hundred, a thousand, a million years for now, and ask yourself if all those years will
contribute to the time they spent alive.   Get the picture?

The Bible says: "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.   For what is
your life?   It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away."   James 4:14

When you consider how long death will last, doesn't it make sense to plan for the
afterlife?   Furthermore, doesn't it make sense to do it to NOW, while you're still alive?
Don't assume that you'll have time tomorrow, because the Bible also says: "Boast not thyself
of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."   Prov. 27:1

Now, having said all this, let's refer back to our story.   Mariah, like far too many people,
took offense to someone trying to tell her what the Bible says.   (If you haven't surmised it
by now, the Bible has a lot to say about one's soul and its destination.)   Mariah's friend,
Gwen, who obviously had taken the time to look into the fate of her own soul, felt
enough concern, and compassion, over Mariah's soul to warn her.

Therefore, the logical reaction on Mariah's part should have been to thank her friend for
showing concern over something that everyone else, including Mariah herself, didn't
seem to care about!   (By the way, in case you haven't noticed, the person who gave you
this is showing concern for your soul.)

Now, whether Mariah actually reads every piece of Bible literature handed to her is
between her and God.   But thanks to Gwen, Mariah can't say that God never tried to make her
aware of what the Bible says.   Nor does she have to go through life lamenting: "I looked
on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge
failed me; no man cared for my soul."   Psa. 142:4

So, friend, the choice is yours.   React as Mariah did by getting all worked up and missing
the whole point, or take a few minutes to read what God has to say about your soul and
its salvation.   You'll find what He has to say on the back [below] of this pamphlet.   And if you
want to learn more of what the Bible says, we invite you to take, FREE OF CHARGE,
the:

Christian Home Bible Course
3303 23rd Av. SouthWest, Fargo, ND 58103

This seven lesson Bible correspondence course is designed to be taken in the privacy of
your own home--at your own pace.   For more information, send a postcard to the address
listed above.   Thank you.

IF you were to die today, are you 100% SURE
you would go to Heaven?   The Bible says
YOU CAN BE SURE (1 John 5:13).

BUT FIRST, you must realize that what keeps you
from going to Heaven are your sins, because:
"...your iniquities [sins] have separated
between you and your God," Isaiah 59:2.
In fact, in God's eyes YOU ARE A SINNER: "For
all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23.

SECONDLY, you must realize that there is
NOTHING you can do to save yourself and earn
Heaven: "For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast."   Eph. 2:8-9   Baptism, good
deeds, church membership, self-righteousness are
all examples of good works that cannot save you,
because: "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he [Christ] saved
us," Titus 3:5.

THE ONLY WAY you can get saved is through
Jesus Christ.   He said: "I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me."   (John 14:6)   THAT'S
WHY: "...while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us."   (Rom. 5:8-9)

THEREFORE: You must REPENT (change your
mind); admit that you are a Hell deserving sinner
and can't save yourself.   And call upon Christ, and
Him alone, to save you.   "if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [REPENT], and
shalt believe in thine heart [TRUST] that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved."   Romans 10:9

SEND THE LIGHT
P.O. Box 815   Fargo, ND 58107

[Christian Helps Ministry (USA)]